Rod Stewart

Storyteller 1984-1991

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Details At A Glance

General		Extras
Category	Music Video	Theatrical Trailer(s)	None
Rating		Other Trailer(s)	None
Year Released	1991	Commentary Tracks	None
Running Time	54:29 Minutes (Not 60 Minutes as per packaging)	Other Extras	None
RSDL/Flipper	No/No	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Movie	Cast & Crew
Region	2,3,4,5,6	Director	Various
Studio Distributor	Warner Vision	Starring	Rod Stewart
Case	Super Jewel	Starring	Rod Stewart
RRP	$39.95	Music	Rod Stewart

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	Full Frame	MPEG	None
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	None	Dolby Digital	None
16x9 Enhancement	No	Soundtrack Languages	English (Linear PCM 48/16 2.0, 1536 Kb/s)
Theatrical Aspect Ratio	1.33:1	Miscellaneous
Macrovision	Yes	Smoking	Yes
Subtitles	English English for the Hearing Impaired	Annoying Product Placement	No
Subtitles	English English for the Hearing Impaired	Action In or After Credits	No

Plot Synopsis

Rod Stewart has got to be one of the ugliest pop stars in the world, and is certainly a relic of the days when selling a hundred million units (at least according to the advertising) took more than looking good. In case you're wondering why I put my hand up to review this title, I have four words for you: Rhythm Of My Heart. This song alone is worth the effort of looking at the disc, and a real favourite of mine because of the strong images it invokes in my mind of turning into a ghost and floating away to Scotland, a place I would far prefer to declare as my country of origin to Australia. Anyway, there are twelve songs included on this DVD, and in order, they are as follows:

Infatuation
Some Guys Have All The Luck
People Get Ready (with Jeff Beck)
Every Beat Of My Heart
Lost In You
Forever Young
My Heart Can't Tell You No
Downtown Train
This Old Heart Of Mine
Rhythm Of My Heart
The Motown Song
Broken Arrow

Generally, when a tracklisting has so many occurrences of titles like My Heart Can't Tell You No, I generally have to recommend that you run in the opposite direction as fast as your legs can carry you. However, if you find songs such as Rhythm Of My Heart to be irresistible and meaningful, then this compilation is as good as you can expect for the time being.

Transfer Quality

Video

The video transfer has obviously been taken from many sources, varying from nine to sixteen years of age, and it must be borne in mind that when this material was filmed, the idea of digital video in the average household was considered a pipe dream. Most of the videos on this disc are presented in the aspect ratio of 1.33:1, and none of them are 16x9 enhanced. Infatuation appears to have been shot with a slightly wider aspect ratio, looking something like 1.50:1.

The transfer is generally very sharp, with the subject of each shot being easy to make out, but the obvious problems involved with music videos of the early 1980s become readily apparent at times. Shadow detail is poor, with the black portions of the transfer containing no discernible details whatsoever. Low-level noise and film grain are something of a problem, especially in the monochrome portions of the transfer. To make matters worse, the colour saturation is very poor during some parts of videos such as Lost In You, although the later videos such as Rhythm Of My Heart are largely immune from the above problems.

MPEG artefacts were not a problem at any point, mainly because the video transfer's bit rate rarely falls below nine Mb/s, with the maximum ten Mb/s rate often being used. Film-to-video artefacts consisted of some occasional aliasing, with a particularly bad example on the front of the car Rod is driving at 18:08. Film artefacts consisted of some small marks on the negatives used for most of the videos, but you'd be hard-pressed to notice most of them.

Audio

There is a single soundtrack on this DVD, with Rod Stewart's incomparable vocals being presented in English with Linear PCM 2.0 16-bit Stereo. The vocals are always clear and distinct, as you would expect from a Rod Stewart DVD, although the music itself certainly doesn't get left far behind in the mix. There were no problems with audio sync except for those generally associated with miming songs for video.

I am no fan of Rod Stewart's music, but this DVD makes listening to the songs quite pleasant in spite of their thematic sameness. Rhythm Of My Heart is a particular highlight of this tracklist, with its anthemic nature being unleashed by the digital format. To give you an idea, I always found this song to be quite boring and lifeless when I heard it being broadcast on the radio or television almost a decade ago, but hearing the song in digital makes a world of difference.

There was no surround activity on this DVD, which is a real pity considering that some activity from the rears would have made the aforementioned song even greater. However, the immersive quality of the music itself more than makes up for this. The subwoofer, on the other hand, had a whale of a time supporting the bass and drum tracks, even if they are quite simplistic compared to what my subwoofer would normally consider a musical treat. This is a DVD with which to show off the musical qualities of your home theatre setup, if nothing else.

Extras

This disc is bereft of extras.

R4 vs R1

The only difference between the two versions of this disc is the use of NTSC formatting in Region 1.

Summary

Rod Stewart: Storyteller 1984-1991 is a good compilation for the fans, and I have no hesitation in recommending this disc to them.

The video quality varies from below average to very good, and is generally good.

The audio quality is superb, and quickly attains reference status.

There are no extras.

Ratings (out of 5)

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

Review Equipment

DVD	Grundig GDV 100 D, using composite output; Toshiba SD-2109, using S-video output
Display	Panasonic TC-29R20 (68 cm), 4:3 mode, using composite input; Samsung CS-823AMF (80 cm), 16:9 mode/4:3 mode, using composite and S-video inputs
Audio Decoder	Built In (Amplifier)
Amplification	Sony STR-DE835
Speakers	Panasonic S-J1500D Front Speakers, Philips PH931SSS Rear Speakers, Philips FB206WC Centre Speaker, JBL Digital 10 Subwoofer